News linked to both this project and an event.
the Qingdao Licang District Procuratorate issued an announcement stating that the defendant, surnamed Zhang, took advantage of an opportunity to register a virtual currency wallet on behalf of the victim to obtain the seed phrase, and subsequently transferred 107 Bitcoins from the victim, surnamed Feng, in multiple batches during the early morning hours. Zhang then layered the transfers through various virtual currency trading platforms, converting the Bitcoin into over 660,000 RMB. The Qingdao Licang District People's Court sentenced Zhang to 10 years and 9 months in prison and imposed a fine of 100,000 RMB for the crime of theft in the first instance.After the defendant appealed, the Qingdao Intermediate People's Court ruled to dismiss the appeal and uphold the original verdict. The case determined the theft amount based on the actual illegal proceeds from the sale, totaling over 660,000 RMB. (Shandong Legal Daily)
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against Texas resident Nathan Fuller, alleging he fraudulently raised approximately $12.3 million from about 150 investors through a fake "AI crypto trading bot" project.The SEC stated that from October 2022 to mid-2024, Fuller offered and sold crypto investment joint venture interests through entities named Privvy Investments LLC and Gateway Digital Investments. He claimed to use an "AI high-frequency arbitrage bot" for crypto asset trading and promised investors "guaranteed returns" of 40% to over 100% within 21 to 45 days.Regulators allege that Fuller also falsely claimed investment funds were protected by FDIC insurance, surety bonds, and professional liability insurance. In reality, the purported trading bot did not operate as advertised. The SEC charges that Fuller misappropriated at least $6.2 million of investor funds for personal expenses and used approximately $5.5 million from new investors for "Ponzi-like payments," while misleading investors through fake account statements and fictitious institutional communications.The SEC has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, accusing Fuller of violating securities offering and anti-fraud laws, and is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and civil penalties.
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a motion to intervene in litigation before the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island to block Rhode Island’s enforcement—under state gambling laws—against CFTC-registered prediction markets. The CFTC asserts that it holds clear and longstanding exclusive jurisdiction over event contracts under the Commodity Exchange Act, and that applicable state laws cannot override designated contract markets. Previously, Rhode Island had initiated a parallel state-court action seeking substantial civil penalties and demanding that the prediction markets cease operations and disgorge profits. This case marks the latest instance—following similar challenges by Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, and Minnesota—in which a state government has contested the CFTC’s regulatory authority over prediction markets.
the Cangshan District People's Procuratorate of Fuzhou City disclosed that a man was sentenced to 12 years and 7 months in prison and fined 300,000 yuan for stealing 4 Bitcoins from another person and illegally profiting approximately 900,000 yuan. The verdict was upheld in the second instance.According to the case details, at the end of 2020, a person surnamed Wang commissioned a person surnamed Lin to assist in liquidating his Bitcoin holdings. While accessing Wang's Bitcoin wallet hard drive and computer, Lin stole the wallet's "private key" and related data, transferred 4 Bitcoins to his own account, and subsequently sold them off for profit. In 2024, Wang discovered the asset anomaly and reported it to the police, leading to Lin's arrest.The procuratorate stated that although current Chinese regulations clarify that virtual currencies do not hold legal tender status, Bitcoin possesses value, manageability, and transferability, which aligns with the general characteristics of "property" under criminal law. Therefore, it constitutes an object of property crimes, and related infringing actions will also be subject to criminal liability.
: Bitcoin financial services company Swan Bitcoin (along with its operating entity Electric Solidus Inc. named as defendants) is facing a lawsuit filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, with claims approaching $1 billion.The lawsuit was filed by PCT Litigation Trust, aiming to recover crypto assets related to the 2023 collapse of Prime Trust. The plaintiff accuses Swan of using "material non-public information" to transfer funds out of Prime Trust before its failure, thereby avoiding significant losses.According to the court filing, Swan had transferred assets including approximately 11,992 Bitcoin (currently valued at around $917 million) out of Prime Trust before it filed for bankruptcy, along with roughly $22.4 million in fiat currency, $5 million in stablecoins, and 91,444 XRP tokens.The plaintiff also alleges that Swan had ties to a senior executive at Prime Trust, who also served as an external consultant for Swan. This individual is suspected of providing Swan with information prior to regulatory meetings, thereby helping the company withdraw its assets early.Swan Bitcoin responded, stating that the relevant assets belong to client trust property and should not be used for bankruptcy liquidation, expressing confidence that the court will ultimately support its position. (Decrypt)
According to The Block, Bitcoin Depot (BTM), a Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin ATM operator, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on the 18th in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, announcing an orderly liquidation and asset sale. CEO Alex Holmes stated that increasingly stringent state-level compliance requirements, transaction limit restrictions, and operational bans in certain regions have rendered the company’s existing business model unsustainable. Previously, the company suffered a security breach in April 2026, resulting in a $3.7 million loss; its Q1 2026 revenue declined 49.2% year-on-year, with a net loss of $9.5 million. Currently, all over 9,000 Bitcoin ATMs operated globally by Bitcoin Depot have been taken offline, and its overseas entities—including those in Canada—will also be shut down.
According to The Block, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held oral arguments in the appeal filed by Roman Sterlingov, the alleged operator of Bitcoin Fog. The court focused on whether prosecutors presented sufficient evidence that Bitcoin Fog operated in Washington, D.C., and whether U.S. unlicensed money transmission laws apply to global cryptocurrency service platforms serving U.S. users. Judges also questioned the reliability of FBI evidence linking Sterlingov to Bitcoin Fog based on “IP address overlap” analysis. Sterlingov was previously convicted in 2024 of conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmission business. The outcome of this case may influence the scope of U.S. enforcement actions—under Section 1960—against developers and service providers of cryptocurrency privacy tools.
Odaily In a related lawsuit against OpenAI being heard at the U.S. District Court in Oakland, California, one of the highly anticipated key witnesses, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is expected to testify in court today.The case was filed by Elon Musk in 2024, accusing OpenAI and its management of violating their non-profit mission commitments and questioning whether their transition to a commercial structure breached charitable fiduciary duties.During the trial, OpenAI Board Chair Bret Taylor continued to testify, stating that the company was "on the brink of collapse" during the management turmoil in 2023. He noted that the restructured organization is now clearer, though the non-profit entity retains control.Meanwhile, Satya Nadella testified that when Microsoft invested over $13 billion in OpenAI in 2019, it "took on significant risk when no one else was willing to bet on them." He also stated that he had never received formal questions from Musk regarding the compliance of the investment.The case continues to focus on the legality of OpenAI's transition from a non-profit organization to a commercial structure. Altman's testimony is seen as a pivotal moment in this phase of the trial. (CNBC)
The Fuzhou Gulou District People's Court recently concluded a dispute arising from investment in virtual currency. Chen transferred 480,000 yuan to Liu for foreign exchange financial management. Liu converted the funds into USDT and invested them on an overseas platform. After the platform was shut down, Chen sued the court demanding a refund. The court reviewed the case and found that this transaction model formed a closed loop of receiving RMB, converting to USDT, cross-border transfer, and foreign exchange trading, constituting a disguised form of foreign exchange trading and suspected of economic crimes.The court ruled to dismiss Chen's lawsuit and transferred relevant materials to the public security authorities for handling. The Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court upheld the original ruling. The court reminded that civil legal acts related to investing in virtual currency that violate public order and good customs are invalid, and any losses incurred therefrom shall be borne by the investor themselves.
The WeChat official account of the Haidian District People’s Court of Beijing Municipality disclosed a case involving “doxxing” using virtual currencies. Between 2023 and 2025, the defendant illegally obtained personal information of Chinese citizens via encrypted communication tools and other channels—acquiring over 900 million pieces of personal data in total—and built a “social engineering database” website storing over 170 million pieces of citizens’ personal information. The defendant also profited by selling such information, receiving payments exclusively in virtual currencies. Additionally, the defendant used encrypted communication tools to establish “doxxing” and “outing” chat groups for disseminating illegal content, including privacy violations. The court convicted the principal offender, Lin某某, of the crimes of infringing upon citizens’ personal information and illegally utilizing information networks, sentencing him to seven years’ imprisonment and imposing a fine of RMB 70,000.
According to Decrypt, an anonymous cryptocurrency whale filed a lawsuit against Coinbase this week in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, accusing the exchange of refusing to return over $55 million worth of DAI stablecoins stolen in a phishing attack in 2024. The plaintiff claims to have engaged multiple on-chain investigation firms to trace the funds, ultimately identifying that the stolen assets flowed into a Coinbase account. Coinbase confirmed in December 2024 that it had frozen the relevant assets but refused to return them, citing the need for a court order. As of today—more than a year and a half after the incident—the victim has still not recovered the assets and has therefore turned to litigation. The attack was carried out by hackers using the “Inferno Drainer” tool to spoof the DeFi Saver login page; after the victim inadvertently interacted with the fake page, their wallet was fully compromised by the attackers.
According to CoinDesk, Payward—the parent company of Kraken—filed a second amended complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado against its former custody partner Etana Custody and its CEO, Dion Brandon Russell, alleging misappropriation of over $25 million in customer funds and operation of a “Ponzi scheme.” Payward claims that Etana commingled custodial assets with its own funds to cover operating expenses and make high-risk investments, while using false account statements to conceal the resulting funding shortfall. In April 2025, when Kraken attempted to withdraw approximately $25 million in reserve funds, Etana delayed the withdrawal, citing fabricated reconciliation issues, and instead relied on new deposits to fill the gap. At least $16 million of the misappropriated funds was invested in promissory notes issued by Seabury Trade Capital, which later defaulted. Subsequently, Colorado state regulators issued a cease-and-desist order against Etana, which entered liquidation proceedings in November 2025 and is now under the management of a court-appointed receiver. Kraken is seeking at least $25 million in damages, plus treble civil theft penalties.
Odaily Odaily PaperImperium, the head of MegaETH, disclosed on X platform that documents from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York show that a U.S. court has issued an injunction against the Arbitrum DAO, prohibiting it from transferring approximately $71 million in ETH assets that were previously frozen during the KelpDAO hacking incident. In response, on-chain detective ZachXBT posted on X platform, stating that certain U.S. law firms are using his investigative work and on-chain forensics to help victims of some hacking incidents file legal claims. However, this practice may actually slow down or hinder victims from receiving compensation or recovering funds.ZachXBT added that in previous hacking incidents involving the Lazarus Group, such law firms often stepped in after on-chain fund tracking or freezing was completed, proposing subsequent legal actions that were weakly related to the crypto incidents themselves. Similar "free-riding claims" strategies were used in events like Harmony and Bybit. He called on the crypto community to establish a DAO to resist such practices.
: MegaETH lead PaperImperium disclosed on X platform a court document from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, showing that a U.S. court has issued an injunction against the Arbitrum DAO, prohibiting it from transferring approximately $71 million worth of ETH assets that were previously frozen in the KelpDAO hacking incident. The plaintiffs are attempting to use these funds to enforce outstanding judgment compensation in cases related to North Korea's involvement in terrorism, kidnapping, and other matters spanning several years. They have also filed a motion to serve legal notice to the Arbitrum DAO via alternative means, treating it as an accountable "partnership." The court document further notes that the Arbitrum DAO has a Security Council governed by ARB holders, which has the authority to take action in emergencies. As a result, relevant members who refuse to comply may face legal consequences such as contempt of court. Market observers believe that this case could set an important precedent for the U.S. judicial system to directly constrain DAO governance structures, further highlighting the compliance pressure faced by DeFi protocols under real-world legal frameworks.
According to Odaily, Korean prosecutors have formally requested the court to sentence Jeong Sang-ho, the former CEO of crypto platform Delio, to 20 years in prison, charging him with large-scale economic fraud.During the closing arguments at the Seoul Southern District Court, prosecutors cited the local Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, accusing the defendant of long-term deliberate deception and false advertising, which resulted in approximately 2,800 investors having their funds locked and facing difficulty with withdrawals. Prosecutors stated that the defendant had clear fraudulent intent, the losses involved were massive, and he subsequently refused to cooperate with the investigation and deliberately shifted blame, continuously exacerbating the losses and hardships of the victims. Therefore, they sought the maximum penalty in accordance with the law. (Cointelegraph)
According to Fox News, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in collaboration with law enforcement agencies in Dubai, China, and Thailand, conducted a large-scale multinational joint operation that successfully dismantled at least nine overseas cryptocurrency scam centers and arrested 276 suspects, involving millions of dollars in illicit funds. In this operation, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California filed federal charges of wire fraud and money laundering against six suspects. Those charged include nationals from Myanmar and Indonesia, who operated scam organizations under names such as “Sanduo Group” and “Giant Company.” Dubai police arrested 275 suspects, while the Royal Thai Police apprehended one additional fugitive. These scam networks employed the “pig-butchering” scheme—building fake friendships or romantic relationships to gain victims’ trust, then luring them into transferring funds to fraudulent cryptocurrency investment platforms, after which the proceeds were laundered and transferred to criminal accounts. This operation aligns with the executive order signed by Trump on March 6, 2026, aimed at combating overseas criminal networks that exploit U.S. citizens. The FBI’s dedicated initiative, “Operation Level Up,” has notified approximately 9,000 victims and recovered roughly $562 million in losses for U.S. citizens. The FBI urges victims to report incidents through the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
According to The Wall Street Journal, on April 27, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit against New York State in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeking a court ruling that the CFTC holds exclusive regulatory authority over prediction markets—aiming to halt New York State’s enforcement actions. Previously, New York State had filed lawsuits against cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Gemini over their prediction market operations. Earlier this month, the CFTC also initiated similar lawsuits against Arizona, Illinois, and Connecticut, intensifying jurisdictional disputes between federal and state regulatory agencies.
: The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a 22-year-old California man, Evan Tangeman, has been sentenced to 70 months (approximately 5 years and 10 months) in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for his involvement in a criminal organization that stole approximately $263 million in crypto assets through social engineering fraud and home invasions.According to court documents, Tangeman pleaded guilty in December 2025, admitting to helping the criminal network launder at least $3.5 million in illicit funds.The criminal group allegedly used the stolen funds for lavish spending, including multi-million dollar nightclub bills, Lamborghini sports cars, and high-end assets like Rolex watches.U.S. District Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, stated in a release that the organization "built a criminal system based on nearly absurd greed," emphasizing that Tangeman not only participated in money laundering but also destroyed evidence after his accomplices were arrested, demonstrating clear criminal intent.This sentencing comes as data shows that the crypto industry suffered $482 million in losses from scams and hacks in the first quarter of 2026, with social engineering fraud and physical violent robberies on the rise. (Cointelegraph)
the CFTC has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, aiming to prevent New York state from enforcing its gambling laws on federally regulated prediction market platforms. The CFTC argues that federal law grants it exclusive regulatory authority over such markets and is seeking a permanent injunction against New York's enforcement actions. CFTC Chairman Michael Selig stated that registered exchanges face multiple state-level lawsuits, which undermine the CFTC's sole regulatory authority over prediction markets. Previously, New York state had sued Binance and Gemini, alleging their products violated state gambling rules, and had also requested Kalshi to cease certain sports-related contracts. Currently, 37 states and Washington D.C. have submitted amicus briefs supporting Massachusetts' enforcement against Kalshi, arguing that federal law has not legalized sports betting and has not abolished the states' historical regulatory powers.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Evan Tangeman, a 22-year-old man from Newport Beach, California, was sentenced on April 24 to 70 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Tangeman participated in an interstate social engineering crime ring that laundered at least $3.5 million. The criminal group operated since October 2023, stealing over $263 million in cryptocurrency through hacking and social engineering tactics. Its members were predominantly minors or unemployed youths under age 20, and the group originated on online gaming platforms. Tangeman was responsible for converting stolen cryptocurrency into fiat currency and leasing luxury mansions for group members in cities including Los Angeles and Miami; he personally received high-end vehicles—including a Bentley and a Lamborghini—as compensation. After the scheme unraveled, Tangeman instructed his co-conspirators to destroy digital devices to obstruct the investigation. The case was jointly investigated by the FBI’s Washington, Los Angeles, and Miami field offices, along with the IRS Criminal Investigation Division. To date, nine defendants have pleaded guilty.